Details were just starting to unfold on March 28 as news of the allegations broke. The Dallas Morning News reports that the allegations have rocked La Vernia, a “farming town of about 1,000 residents about 20 miles east of San Antonio.”

Here’s what you need to know

1. A Victim’s Mother Says Youths Were Sodomized With Everything From Bottles to Baseball Bats

One victim’s mother graphically described the allegations, saying they included sodomy.

“Kids were holding them down in the locker rooms, there was a lookout at the door watching for coaches not to come. They hold them down and stick various items up their rectum… including coke bottles, deodorant bottles, steel pipes, baseball bats and broom sticks,” she said, according to News 4 San Antonio.

2. Police Arrested 7 Juvenile & 2 Adult Students

According to MySanAntonio.com, police arrested the two adults on March 27 and seven juvenile students the previous week.

They turned the juveniles over to their parents and booked the adults into the jail, said the newspaper, which added that more arrests might occur, including involving recent graduates of the high school.

The names and mugshots of the suspects have not yet been released. This article will be updated when they are.

3. The Accusations Mostly Involve the Football Team but Other Student Athletes Are Also Accused

It’s not only high school students who are accused; authorities allege that some of the hazing incidents occurred in middle school, according to Fox San Antonio.

The Dallas Morning News reported that, according to police, the allegations mostly involve the football team but the basketball and baseball teams are involved to a lesser degree.

A police news release said authorities “received an outcry of hazing involving high school student-athletes,” KSAT-TV reported.

The release added: “We made contact with several students who gave forensic interviews with the Children’s Alliance of South Texas. The results of the interviews confirmed evidence a crime had been committed.”

Fox4San Antonio reported that there are at least 10 victims and all are male.

4. The Superintendent Said the District Took ‘Immediate’ Action

In a statement released to Fox San Antonio, the superintendent of schools said the school took immediate action, but there was a limit to the details that could be released because of student confidentiality rules.

“As you know, La Vernia ISD has been faced with a very difficult situation involving allegations made against and the arrests of a number of students at the District. It has been very challenging to balance and respect the rights of all involved, but that is what the District is tasked with doing,” he said in part.

“I want to make sure everyone knows that as soon as the District was informed of the arrests, our campus administrators took immediate and appropriate action; however, because of federal law protecting the confidentiality of student information, I cannot tell you what disciplinary actions have been or will be taken.”

The superintendent also released a detailed statement on Facebook that you can read above.

5. Community Members Are Outraged

The mother of a victim wrote on Facebook, “My son would have been a senior at La Vernia High School this year. He was assaulted by his class mates while attending La Vernia Junior High School. I am feeling really blessed that we pulled him out of the La Vernia school system after the assault.”

One woman wrote on Facebook, “Hard to be proud of this community when my 16 year old is crying because he doesn’t understand how his friend could assault his other friends in such a disgusting way. For the first time ever I’m ashamed to claim LV as my hometown.”

Another woman wrote, “It’s left a lot of other kids that were not victims or abusers with so many questions. My son had friends on both sides of this and he can not wrap his mind around what has happened. Trying to answer all the questions when I have so many questions.”

Of course women don’t understand this. They don’t understand the relation between hazing and homosocial bonding. This may be a case of hazing gone bad. Or it might just be a case of a mother getting clued in and going on a maternal rampage, forcing the school to react, resulting in police involvement. That many students were involved ought to tell you that this has been going on, and ACCEPTED (as in, the “victims” accepted it because it was part of a bonding ritual) for some time. Sorry ladies, you don’t know everything.

Jim you must be insane if you think stuffing a kids asshole with a broom handle is acceptable for bonding. You should go get some help. Tell you what, how about we have a beer, bond, and shove a broom handle way up your ass. See how great you feel.

Well-said. Either Jimbo is a nutcase, or he is one of the alumni from La Vernia who took a bat up the keester, and liked it more than he expected. Either way, you need to keep your ignorant comments to yourself.

Jim, dear, it’s ok that you liked it, and it doesn’t always need to be so rough,, but what’s NOT ok is to say it was accepted. Many people, especially kids, do things they don’t like because of peer pressure. They didn’t say anything for fear of being cast out of the group or they felt they would get it again if they said anything. That is NOT ACCEPTANCE. and the actions, if true, are NEVER ACCEPTABLE. If you are coerced, you aren’t “approving” you are just selecting the least worst outcome in your mind of the choices given.